I was among a small group of reporters allowed to enter the stands to watch the second group of seven quarterbacks partake in specific passing drills with combine wide receivers.

(Reporters otherwise are confined all week to an interview/work room at Lucas Oil Stadium.)

The QBs I observed, in addition to Smith, included E.J. Manuel of Florida State, Ryan Nassib of Syracuse, Matt Scott of Arizona, Brad Sorensen of Southern Utah, James Vandenberg of Iowa and Tyler Wilson of Arkansas.

From five-step drops, three-step drops and stationary positions, the quarterbacks threw a variety of staple NFL pass routes, from both the left and right sides: 10-yard outs, quick slants, 13-yard ins, 12-yard curls and fly patterns.

“(He) did not provide the sparkling performance to seal up the No. 1 overall pick – or even assert himself as the clear-cut top quarterback,” Rang wrote afterward.

Rang also polled several NFL talent evaluators, among the hundreds watching from the field and stands.

“While several characterized Smith as the best of the passers, they hardly lauded praise on the West Virginia quarterback. Asked to grade Smith on a 1-10 scale, Smith received an average of seven.”

I surely am no draftnik or scout-level observer of quarterback mechanics. But to my eyes, Smith showed off the most consistent arm of the second group. As well, he probably possessed the strongest arm, and had one of the fastest releases.

While there is little beyond root passing and setup skills to glean from these T-shirts-and-shorts sessions, Smith appeared to me to do things the smoothest, and most effortlessly.

That’s not to say he didn’t throw his share of stinkers. He did. Sometimes on the simplest, shortest passes.

For instance, in one drill mostly for the benefit of receivers – “the gauntlet,” when wideouts sprint across the field with quarterbacks zipping balls in strides to them as they go – Smith one time threw so hard, late and high, he nearly decapitated Markus Wheaton of Oregon State.

Smith’s sweetest completion was a deep timing throw – a post-corner to the right side, perfectly lobbed.

Earlier, the 6-foot-2, 218-pound Smith was the fastest among the 14 quarterbacks, running the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds – confirming his top-shelf athleticism.

As for the other QBs in Group 2, here are my quick takes:

E.J. Manuel of Florida State: Often throws a quick, snappy ball but his occasional wonky, short-armed throws perhaps are one cause of his inaccuracy woes.

Ryan Nassib of Syracuse: As he showed in college in Doug Marrone’s short-pass system, he’s expert on quick slants and short outs. He really struggled on the fly patterns, however.

Matt Scott of Arizona: While he ran Rich Rodriguez’s read-option spread as a senior, he might have had the fastest release of the Group 2 QBs, and showed nice touch on a couple post-corners.

Later, I asked NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock if any quarterback helped himself on Sunday.

While he said he’ll have to look at the official NFL insiders’ tape of combine workouts later on to know for sure, Mayock did say that Sorensen of Southern Utah, “who I don’t know anything about, caught my eye a couple of times.”

But otherwise, “This is a difficult class to figure out. It really, really is.”

“It’s so stark, the difference,” Mayock said Sunday at the NFL scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Indeed, he said that 52 weeks ago, new Indianapolis Colts GM Ryan Grigson and his first-time head coach, Chuck Pagano, had the not-so-awful task of having to eventually choose between Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III as their No. 1 overall draft pick.

This year, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey have the No. 1 pick.

“And there’s not a quarterback in sight, probably, at that point,” Mayock said.

Even though the Chiefs desperately need one.

Don’t count on them taking Geno Smith.

“I want to like Geno Smith,” Mayock said. “We interviewed him and I loved what he had to say. But there are just too many inconsistencies on tape for me to say that Kansas City, or anybody that high, should take him. I think he’s more of like a 20 to 32 guy (overall).”

I was among a small group of reporters allowed to enter the stands to watch the second group of seven quarterbacks partake in specific passing drills with combine wide receivers.

(Reporters otherwise are confined all week to an interview/work room at Lucas Oil Stadium).

The QBs I observed, in addition to Smith, included E.J. Manuel of Florida State, Ryan Nassib of Syracuse, Matt Scott of Arizona, Brad Sorensen of Southern Utah, James Vandenberg of Iowa and Tyler Wilson of Arkansas.